Review of The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
A.E. Jackson Review Score: 4 / 5 Ravens
How was this review scored?
From the start, readers are thrown into the deep end of a fantastic science fiction world. Every element hints at a full history and culture. Each page is well developed with expert craftsmanship through the mind of author Justin Cronin.
There is no wading into this novel. Readers are tossed into the deep end of the pool as waves of turmoil toss them about. The story continues through well formed, deep point of view. The actions, emotions, and thoughts are all seated deep in the consciousness of the protagonist. We flow from one thought to the next seamlessly, just as our own thoughts race around, collide, and surface to make themselves known.
The mystery grows with each passing chapter… What is Oranios? When is Arrival? Why are workers revolting? Who is Mother?
The riveting standalone novel concerns a group of survivors living on a storm-torn Earth. Their safety is ensured on a hidden island utopia. However, the truth isn’t quite as it appears.
A mysterious genius known as the Designer founded the archipelago called Prospera which lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. Prospera is an island paradise. The lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until their monitors indicate physical health and psychological well-being have fallen below 10 percent. At that point, they are retired, and embark on a ferry ride to another island known as the Nursery. It is here that their failing bodies are renewed, their memories wiped clean, and they restart a new life.
Proctor Bennett is employed by the Department of Social Contracts, and has led a satisfying career as a ferryman. His duties include shepherding people through the retirement process — and, when necessary, enforcing it. But Proctor’s life is about to encounter some very rough waves.
It doesn’t take long for Proctor to find himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized — and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.
The novel starts off with an exciting flourish, but soon enters a slow and boring portion demonstrating the culture of well-heeled Prosperians living empty lives filled with pointless culture. At times, I wanted to put the novel aside. But I am so glad I waded through the muddled middle and picked up on the exciting plot line once again.
The pace picks up and the story becomes more complex. There are moments of complex intrigue, mystery surrounding untold motives, and a thorough history between characters that Cronin reveals sparingly. The author shows mere glimpses of a greater story below the surface. Cronin has so much in mind for the characters that the reader feels they may just be skimming the surface of the complete and complex world.
About half-way through the story Proctor makes the voyage to the mysterious Nursery. It is this moment when he crosses the Threshold of his hero’s journey. Almost everything to that point of the novel had been the normal business of daily living. Even though the edges were peeling away, breaking apart, and in serious peril from an as-yet-unknown threat. Problems begin mounting for Proctor, which he needs to solve, over the course of the next few chapters. The primary result being full character development. Cronin accomplishes this by revealing a web of complex history, both memories and some interactions, shared by multiple characters.
The story picks up momentum as more answers are revealed, while still larger mysteries raise more questions for readers. The pace of the story flows like a torrent of rushing water hurtling the reader off the edge of an incredible waterfall’s brink.
The craft of uncanny storytelling is alive and well in this novel by Justin Cronin. This tale is a reminder of the classic by Alfred Kubin, The Other Side, published in 1908 in which people in the town are sleepwalking through existence (https://matthewrettino.com/2017/09/30/the-other-side-by-alfred-kubin/). For a more contemporary take, readers might view this story as a less frightening version of the modern film Dark City featuring Kiefer Sutherland.
Justin Cronin became a phenomenon, with his novel The Passage, in 2010. That unforgettable was compared to novels by Cormac McCarthy, Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood by both critics and readers. It became a runaway bestseller and enchanted readers around the world.
The Passage spent 3 months on The New York Times bestseller list. The novel was featured on more than a dozen “Best of the Year” lists, including Time’s “Top 10 Fiction of 2010,” NPR’s “Year’s Most Transporting Books,” and Esquire’s “Best & Brightest of 2010.” Stephen King called The Passage “enthralling… read this book and the ordinary world disappears.” The Twelve and The City of Mirrors were also critically acclaimed instant New York Times bestsellers.
Justin Cronin’s work has been published in over forty-five languages and sold more than three million copies worldwide. He is a writer in residence at Rice University, and divides his time between Houston, Texas, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Read more from Justin Cronin at https://justincroninbooks.com and find him/her on social media at Facebook(@justincroninauthor), Instagram(@jccronin), and Twitter(@jccronin).